BOSTON -- Red Sox left fielder Carl Crawford made his first trip to the disabled list since 2008 on Saturday, when he was placed on the DL with a strained left hamstring, an injury he incurred Friday night while beating out an infield hit in the first inning.

Crawford's place on the roster was taken by outfielder Josh Reddick, his second callup this season. Reddick hit .385 (5-for-13) with a double and 4 RBIs when he was recalled May 26 to take Darnell McDonald's place when McDonald went on the DL. Last season, he hit .194 in 29 games for the Sox. He is batting .236 with 14 home runs and 36 RBIs for the Pawtucket Red Sox.

Red Sox manager Terry Francona said he will use a combination of McDonald, Mike Cameron, Reddick and Drew Sutton in Crawford's absence.

"Just kind of piece it together a little bit,'' Francona said.

McDonald was in left and Cameron in right against Brewers left-hander Randy Wolf Saturday night.

"I think the medical people thought at best it was going to be 10 to 14 days (recovery time),'' Francona said of Crawford, who was diagnosed with a Grade 1 strain, the least severe. "I called him and talked to him this morning, he gets it."

McDonald is 1 for 8 with two RBIs in two starts since his recall from Pawtucket. He singled in a run and scored another in Boston's 4-2 win in Wednesday night's rubber match against the Rays, and made a terrific running catch in center field while starting in place of Jacoby Ellsbury.

McDonald made the most of his rehab stint in Pawtucket, batting .345 (10-for-29) in 9 games while posting a .457 on-base percentage and .655 slugging percentage. Francona said the regular playing time was useful for McDonald, who had played sparingly for the Red Sox in the season's first two months.

"He got banged up a little bit, he went down to (Triple-A), and we tried to use that to our advantage,'' Francona said. "He got consistent at-bats. ... Now, if he gets a chance to play, which he probably will, he's got a better chance to help us be the type of player that (he was) last year. Hit an occasional ball out of the ballpark, steal a base, give us good at-bats, play good defense, and that's what he's doing."

Crawford last went on the DL in 2008, when he missed most of August and September with a subluxation of a tendon in the middle finger of his right hand. That was the only time in his career he was on the DL, although he missed the last 12 games of the 2007 with a left groin strain.

Crawford is hitting .243 with an on-base average of just .275 as he tries to recover from the worst start of his career. His return to Tropicana Field this past week was a quiet one, as he had just a single in 10 trips against the Rays in his first time back since he signed as a free agent with the Red Sox.